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Baird Wants Fans & Public To Enjoy 'Nemesis'

Director Stuart Baird said recently he hopes 'Star Trek Nemesis' will not only appeal to the core fan base, but also entice the general public to sample the franchise.

"My greatest wish is that the fans will love this movie," Baird told David Bassom in Dreamwatch (via Sci-Fi Pulse). "I hope the fans will want to see it several times, because it's got so much in it for them. I really don't want to disappoint any of the fans. Even though I'm not a Trekkie myself, I respect all those people who have loved the characters all these years. I also hope 'Nemesis' will open the door for other people who may not be interested in a Star Trek movie. I hope they say, 'Well, this sounds like a good movie. Let's go see it and enjoy it as a movie in it's own right!'"

The director of 'Executive Decision' and 'U.S. Marshals,' Baird is a Hollywood veteran, with Oscar nominations for editing 'Superman' and 'Gorillas In The Mist.' But he had to brush up on his Star Trek knowledge before starting work on the film. "I admitted straight away that I had never been a Trekkie. I don't remember seeing any of the Star Trek movies. I said to Rick [Berman] and John Logan and everybody, 'The back story is all well and good and we're not going to undermine that, but I hope that everyone who hasn't seen or been involved in the Star Trek ethos will enjoy the movie and understand it and get full satisfaction from it in it's own right.' I just treated 'Nemesis' like a stand alone movie."

Although he 'went to school' and watched the previous Trek feature films, Baird resolved to give the film his own personal touch, particularly with the Reman scenes. "I decided I was going to approach it in a slightly different way photographically. Obviously I didn't design the set or costumes for the Enterprise, but I photographed the Enterprise in a slightly different way. I brought my cameraman Jeff Kimball, and my costume designer, Bob Ringwood, on to the show. And obviously the whole Reman world - the bad guys' world - gave me the opportunity to design something new."

Just like screenwriter John Logan, Baird felt 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' was an example for other Trek films to follow. "Looking back, 'The Wrath of Khan' was my style of movie," reveals Baird. "So I really followed that in terms of its energy and filmic sense."

The full interview can be found in the latest issue of Dreamwatch, out now. Alternatively, further extracts can be found here at Sci-Fi Pulse.